In many situations it is either impractical or impossible to provide training in the actual working environment. For example, with jet aircraft, training of new pilots and continued training of more experienced pilots cannot practically be accomplished with the aircraft itself.
Therefore, training simulators, such as flight simulators, have been developed. Ideally, such training systems provide exact replicas of the actual working environment, and provide real-life audio-visual experiences. Simulators are useful in a wide range of applications, such as for training in aircraft, boats, automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, power plants, chemical plants, or any other application calling for operator training.
These training systems typically include switches, buttons, gauges, meters, and other controls (which may be actual or computer representations) for simulating the actual controls used in the working environment. For training systems such as those used for jet aircraft, a visual display of ground terrain, the horizon, and the sky is also provided. In operation, these training systems simulate actual conditions in response to the trainees' use of the simulator controls. In this way, valuable training may be provided without the cost associated with, for example, actually flying a jet aircraft.
Instructors are often involved in the use of such training systems. These instructors monitor trainee performance, and can provide testing, instruction, and critique. For example, by setting the training system into a preset state, a trainee may be tested for response to a particular scenario, for example, recovery from a tailspin. However, instructors are not always necessary, and trainees may also set the training system to a desired state.
Such training systems are typically used in connection with training for dangerous and expensive equipment, such as jet fighter aircraft. Precise operating procedures for such equipment is often thoroughly documented in written manuals, which are studied by the trainees, both for training and mission planning. For example, operating procedures and information for fighter aircraft are provided in flight manuals, often referred to as technical orders (or "TOs"). Similarly, procedures for operating nuclear plants are precisely and exhaustively documented in various operating procedure documents.
Trainees are often very familiar with this written information, which may include graphics such as charts and graphs, and its layout and appearance in the written document. For example, a typical TO for a fighter aircraft includes charts that provide information on proper weapons loading. Each line of the chart describes where various kinds of weapons should be attached to the aircraft. For example, one line may describe where air-to-air missiles of a particular kind should be attached for a weapons load of all air-to-air missiles. Another line of such a chart may describe where air-to-surface missiles should be attached to the aircraft for a weapons load of all air-to-surface missiles.
The trainees' knowledge and familiarity with such written procedures and charts and graphs is a valuable resource, and a need has arisen for a method and apparatus for training which makes use of the trainees' knowledge of such written materials. Furthermore, a need has arisen for a method and apparatus for graphically displaying and controlling operating conditions in training systems.